Paul Chernoff
Retired Judge and Former Chair of Parole Board
BIO
Hon Paul Chernoff (ret.) served as a judge for 28 years in the Massachusetts Superior Court and eight years in the Newton District Court, after being appointed by former Governor Michael Dukakis.
Before serving on the Superior Court, Judge Chernoff was a public defender staff attorney in Washington DC when he met John Boone, as the superintendent of the Lorton Reformatory in Virginia. As Commissioner of Corrections in Massachusetts, when a seat opened up on the Parole Board, Boone recommended Judge Chernofff for the position. He was appointed to the Parole Board by Governor Francis Sargent, on the recommendation of John Boone, and later became Chairman. During his tenure, he helped establish a reform parole agenda that included increasing the paroling rate and establishing community correctional and parole programs while professionalizing the parole staff.
After judicial retirement, Judge Chernoff has continued to serve the community by working as a special magistrate for the so-called drug laboratory cases, adjunct professor of law at Boston College Law School, volunteering for Veterans Legal Services, and providing pro bono arbitration and mediation services.
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